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Monday, February 27, 2012

PhilRice scholars worth the investment

Over
the years, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has delivered
unparalleled service to the Filipino farmers by developing cost-effective
technologies to make rice farming fulfilling and profitable—an accomplishment
that was contributed for the most part by returning scholars, a PhilRice
official said.

Dr. Manuel Jose C. Regalado, PhilRice’s deputy executive director for research
and chair of the Staff Development Committee, said for close to three decades,
PhilRice has reaped the benefits of strengthening its human resource as
returning scholars, both local and international, have widened the Institute’s
networks and continuously partnered with universities and scholarship grantors.

“PhilRice has many projects sourced externally, many of them from international
donor agencies and had produced results that helped optimize rice farming and
increased farmers’ yield. These are made possible because we have invested on
our staff,” Regalado said.

Data from the Institute’s Human Resources Office revealed that 81 percent of
PhilRice scholars have rendered or are rendering their return service
obligations while about 19 percent did not finish their return service.

“The scholars are required to render two years of service for every year of the
grant. We are delighted that most of our scholars have returned to serve the
country despite more lucrative offers from other agencies. Meanwhile, most of
the scholars who did not complete their return of service have either fully
paid or are paying their scholarship obligation,” Regalado said.

With a pool of 38 PhD and 142 master’s degree holders, PhilRice had produced
six recipients of the distinguished Ten Outstanding Young Men and The
Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service awards. These distinctions are
awarded to Filipinos who have shown unwavering service to the country.

Regalado also stressed that the expertise gained by the scholars have helped
the Institute in conducting studies and implementing projects that had improved
the productivity and efficiency of rice farmers.

“In 2009, a study commissioned by the Bureau of Agricultural Research of the
Department of Agriculture revealed that there was a 75 percent return on
investment for PhilRice. This is something that the Institute tries to live up
to and even improve on in our commitment to elevate the standards of public
service in the Philippines
with stronger human resource,” he said.

During its 26th anniversary late last year, PhilRice recognized the scholastic
performance of its 10 scholars who have completed their programs from good
universities in the country and abroad such as the University of the Philippines, Wageningen
University and Research
Center in the Netherlands, and University
of Queensland in Australia.

DA-PhilRice
is a government-owned and –controlled corporation that aims at developing
high-yielding, cost-reducing, and environment-friendly technologies so farmers
can produce enough rice for all Filipinos.

For
more information, please visit or contact DA-PhilRice at Maligaya, Science City
of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija with telephone number (044) 456-0285 loc 511/512 or any
PhilRice station near you. You may also text your questions to 0920-911-1398.

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